


Rise of the Dictator

by Aviditas04



Series: The Alexander Chronicles [5]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:41:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26074339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aviditas04/pseuds/Aviditas04
Summary: At Camp Half-Blood, the Greeks are preparing to defend Zeus' Fist. At Camp Jupiter, Jason has just lost the consular elections and is forced to watch as Camp Jupiter prepares to surrender to Saturn. However, he is not one to give up without a fight, and the Fates have given him the chance to save the Romans.
Series: The Alexander Chronicles [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1607437





	Rise of the Dictator

_August 15, 2011-Jason_

It had been nearly two months since the election for consul, and I was still upset over my loss. Okay, sure, I was a little young, but I had been in Camp Jupiter since I was four! I had the experience to lead if I was just given the chance. But it wasn't just that I had lost that made me upset, it was who I had lost to: Cassander Theron, a son of Janus. Gods, even _Octavian_ would have been a better choice ... had he been around often enough to campaign. But no, he kept vanishing which allowed the peace-loving, "We don't need to fight the Titans" Theron to win. At least Octavian was a fighter, though I did worry about how stable he would be if he gained power. Despite his name, he was no Caesar Augustus, he seemed more like Caligula reborn.

My musings on the last election were cut short when a horn blew from the Berkeley Hills. We formed up so we could hear the news, but Theron and his co-consul, Peter Adams son of Fides called the centurions aside. "A monster is coming our way, but it's so large that we can't stand against it," Peter stated. "It has already destroyed much of Berkeley, but the mortals think it was nothing more than an earthquake, thank the gods."

"I told you that we should negotiate," Cassander stated. "If we negotiate, we can save everyone and all we need to do is swear support to Saturn. I know of a camp where I can go and negotiate peace."

"You do that," I growled out. "But even if none of you join me, I'm going to fight. Have you even considered what might happen if we don't fight?" I asked Peter, before turning on Cassander. "Or if we join the Titans? If we don't fight, Rome's legacy dies with us. If we join the Titans and win, the legacy of Olympus will die, and what happens to us then? We are part of their legacy!"

Cassander glared at me. "Careful how you speak, Centurion Grace. You may be the son of Jupiter, but we are still your superiors and if we wish, we could strip you of rank. Now, I will go to negotiate, and you will wait for my return. If I find out you acted otherwise …" he left without finishing his threat.

Peter then turned to me. "What Theron has forgotten is that it takes both of us to strip you of your rank, Jason, and I'm on your side. I even wanted you as my co-consul, so go out and do your best, centurion."

I gave him a grin, glad that I had voted for him in the election. With a quick salute, I flew off towards Berkeley with a battered, Imperial gold spear and my coin. I didn't have to go to far before I saw the monster, and when I did, I instantly froze. It was no wonder that the scouts had been in a panic when they arrived, and why they believed us to be doomed: it was the Trojan Sea Monster, aka the Kraken, one of the most dangerous creatures to ever exist! There were rumours that this thing had been created by Pluto himself to fight Saturn, and it had only been defeated once before, when my ancient half-brother Perseus turned it to stone with Medusa's head.

But then I had a great idea: as a sea creature, it should react badly to electricity, and I had become quite good at creating lightning since I met my brother, Alex. Now that I had a plan, I moved in against the Kraken. I was glad that I had trained so much in the air, as the monster had several enormous tentacles that it used as weapons to try and knock me out of the air, all of which I managed to avoid. Once I was up near it's head, I used the older spear to direct blasts of lightning into it's eyes, blinding it. That was _not_ a good idea, as it instantly started thrashing around, trying even harder to find me and kill me. Naturally, that's when Theron arrived. "Grace, you are hereby stripped of your rank as centurion! I have made peace with Saturn, and Camp Jupiter is now under his command! If you don't stop attacking the Kraken, you will be considered a traitor to Nova Roma!"

I ignored him and charged up the spear, then threw it straight at the Kraken's mouth. The spear got caught between it's teeth, and I flew as far away as possible, because I knew exactly what was going to happen. And sure enough, just as I planned, when the Kraken closed it's mouth, the spear exploded, destroying the Kraken's head. Theron started yelling at me, only for the Kraken's body to crash down on top of him. I flew down to see if he could have possibly survived, but when I got down there, I only found his arm, still holding the treaty with Saturn's army. Curious, I picked it up and read it, and when I finished, I nearly exploded in rage. Theron had COMPLETELY betrayed us! We were expected to fight Olympus, but he didn't even get a vow to make sure that we would survive as we were after the war! Knowing this, I flew off to Camp Jupiter, where I knew Saturn's representative would soon arrive to ratify the treaty.

Sure enough, just as I arrived, so did Saturn's representative, in front of the entire population of Camp Jupiter and Nova Roma. "Where is Consul Theron? He has the treaty that your Senate needs to ratify," the representative stated. He looked familiar, and I couldn't figure out why, until I thought about Alex and his tales of the Greek camp.

"Consul Theron is dead, Torrington, and here's what I say to your treaty," I stated. Then I tore it up and tossed into Vesta's Eternal Flame. "As for Saturn's desire for an alliance with us, here's your answer," then I flipped Julius, and when it came down, I stabbed him through the heart, instantly killing him. With that, I turned to my fellow Romans. "Friends, countrymen, fellow Romans, Consul Theron betrayed us when he tried to side with Saturn! He would have had the entire legion swear allegiance to Saturn or be declared as traitors and executed! Well, I for one will _never_ support Saturn and will do whatever it takes to bring him down. Who is with me?"

Everyone had frozen when I had arrived, and the reaction continued for about a minute after I finished my little speech. It was a minute that seemed to last for an eternity, but when it ended, everyone was cheering my name _"JASON! JASON! JASON!"_

"Not only are we with you, centurion, but you shall be rewarded for your loyalty to Rome and to Olympus," Peter stated. Instantly some people called out _consul_ , but Peter held up his hand. "No, Jason shall not become consul. No, we shall do something that hasn't been done in two millennia. Senators of Nova Roma, I propose a _lex curiata de imperio_ , giving Jason Grace, centurion of the Fifth Cohort ultimate command of Nova Roma for the duration of the war against Saturn!"

Everyone stared in shock, including myself! Peter was right, what they were suggesting hadn't been done since 44 BC: he was suggesting that I be named _dictator_! He was actually suggesting that I be given ultimate control of Nova Roma until Saturn died! "I … I don't know what to say," I stuttered in shock.

"Fortunately, you don't need to say anything, not until the Senate agrees. For now though, in recognition of your actions in killing the Kraken, I nominate you for the _corona obsidionalis,_ the Grass Crown! Do you agree?" Instantly the entire legion cheered in support and, tearing up some of the grass of the field, created the crown. Michael brought the crown to Peter and he raised it towards the heavens. "Lord Mars, god of war, if you agree with this award, show your favor now!" And with a flash, the Grass Crown turned gold, and Peter placed it on my head. He then rushed to the Senate and called a vote. A week later and I was the dictator of Nova Roma by a unanimous vote.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, a note on the Ancient Roman dictators. While they did have ultimate power, it was usually only in times of crisis and they usually only held power for six months at a time, thus why Peter suggested a specific reason for the end of the dictatorship of Jason. Also, I followed Roman law for the nomination of a dictator … mostly. The nomination of an Ancient Roman dictator actually required three steps, of which I did one perfectly and combined the other two. The three steps were: nomination by a consul (with acceptance by the other,) the Senate passing a senatus consultum decree, and the Comitia Curia passing the lex curiata de imperio. Since we've never heard of a Curia Assembly in New Rome, I simply put the Senate in charge of accepting the nomination. Finally, Jason will still be elected consul, but only after the war ends. Next, yes, I killed Alabaster Torrington, and finally my Cassander Theron is inspired by two idiots seen in movies about Ancient Greece. Cassander is in the pacifistic Greek politician seen in Immortals, the poor interpretation of the tale of Theseus, while Theron is the corrupt Spartan senator from 300, bought and paid for by Xerxes.


End file.
